Taking over an NFL franchise remains one of the toughest jobs in sports. Each new General Manager attempts to change their team as quickly as possible to fit the look they find to be the most competitive, both on and off the field. Caldwell took the logical approach of forming a relationship based on strong communication with the Head Coach of his choice-Gus Bradley. Together, these two men decided on a path for the football team and plan to get there as soon as possible.

The initial transformation process includes: reviewing game tape from the last few seasons in order to determine who to keep and who to cut, working with current personnel to fit new schemes, addressing key positions both through the Free Agency Period and the NFL Draft, and taking risks on uncertain commodities through the draft.

Certain GM's also find themselves to be strapped early on by a bad cap situation. This proves detrimental to building a franchise in the early years as the initial goal of any starting GM stands to eliminate the negatives from the previous regime, then build positive perspective and orientation for the franchise. Winning cures all ailments on the football field and Caldwell can initiate that winning with smart moves regarding the roster.

Caldwell may begin to eliminate more and more players before the draft arrives with full force. This early elimination process will be player-specific and could be due to a highly negative locker room presence, a bad scheme fit or possibly a bad contract situation. Teams that hire a new GM usually require this complete overhaul as the team wasn't in a winning position beforehand--thus the new GM.